1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a writing instrument such as a pen or pencil which may be used by persons suffering from hypotonia (i.e., low or weak muscle tone) to enable such persons to more effectively write by indicating whether the writer is applying sufficient pressure to the writing instrument, as well as a method of using such a writing instrument. More particularly, the writing instrument of this invention employs a pressure sensing device and an indicator such as colored lights to notify the user whether sufficient pressure is being applied to the writing instrument to enable effective handwriting by the user.
2. Background Information
Hypotonia is a condition of low or weak muscle tone, and is a symptom of many diseases. For example, hypotonia may be a symptom of cerebral, spinal or muscular disease, as discussed in E. Mueller, xe2x80x9cFact Sheet on Hypotoniaxe2x80x9d (available at www.lightlink.com) (Aug. 1997).
Hypotonia is generally found in young children, although it may also be found in adults. Many problems have been associated with the disorder, including delayed motor development, shallow breathing, and little sustained speech. Hypotonia is sometimes also used as an indicator of specific syndromes in children; for example, hypotonia is symptomatic of children having an extra 21st chromosome, which is the cause of Down syndrome.
Hypotonia causes developmental delays in many areas, including physical development. The major effect of hypotonia is the impairment of either fine or gross motor skills. Gross motor skills include crawling, walking, running, and jumping. These skills are age dependent. Fine motor skills include the ability to grasp a toy or finger, transfer a toy from one hand to another, point out an object, follow a toy or person with one""s eyes, and use one""s hands to feed oneself.
Children having low or weak muscle tone due to hypotonia are unable to move independently and have a hard time resisting the pull of gravity. A main concern of occupational therapists and parents is that a hypotonic child""s fine motor skills may be affected due to the low or weak muscle tone of the wrists and hands. If this is the case, the child may experience difficulty using a writing instrument such as a pen or pencil to write. Because of the difficulty of controlling a writing instrument for a child having impaired fine motor skills, it is often difficult to decipher the child""s handwriting even if the child is able to write.
Many different types of treatment and therapy have been developed to combat the problems created by hypotonia. One type of treatment for hypotonic children is early intervention and therapy. In therapy, depending on the individual case of hypotonia, a child may go through programs including early education, and speech, occupational and/or physical therapy. See N. Brown, xe2x80x9cA Testing Time For Low Tone Kidsxe2x80x9d (available at www.lightlink.com) (December 1998).
For children whose fine motor skills are affected by hypotonia, there are few options available. In addition, the available methods do not focus on the child""s actual fine motor skill problems, but rather, deal with the poor muscle tone that causes the lack of skill.
In view of the foregoing, it would be desirable to develop a writing instrument such as a pen or pencil which indicated to a hypotonic user such as a child whether sufficient pressure was being applied and maintained while the user was writing using the instrument. It is one object of this invention to provide such a writing instrument. It is another object of this invention to provide a method of using such a writing instrument. Other objects, features and advantages of this invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description.
An illuminating writing instrument useful for persons with hypotonia comprises:
(a) a housing having a lower end and an upper end;
(b) a writing core located within the housing, wherein the writing core has a first end which extends beyond the lower housing end and a second end;
(c) a head having a first head end which operatively interfaces the writing core second end, and a second head end;
(d) a force applying member which is operatively associated with the head; and
(e) an electrical circuit which comprises in electrical connection:
(i) a power source,
(ii) a first switch electrically operatively associated with the power source,
(iii) a second switch which is operatively associated with the second head end, wherein the second switch is capable of generating a signal responsive to force being applied to the writing core first end, and
(iv) a multicolor indicator electrically operatively associated with the first and second switches and capable of receiving signals from the first and second switches and providing a distinct indication corresponding to each signal.
A method of using an illuminating writing instrument to indicate the amount of force applied by a user in writing comprises:
(a) providing an illuminating writing instrument comprising:
(i) a housing having a lower end and an upper end,
(ii) a writing core located within the housing, wherein the writing core has a first end which extends beyond the lower housing end and a second end,
(iii) a head having a first head end which operatively interfaces the writing core second end, and a second head end,
(iv) a force applying member which is operatively associated with the head, and
(v) an electrical circuit which comprises in electrical connection:
(1) a power source,
(2) a first switch operatively associated with the power source,
(3) a second switch which is operatively associated with the second head end, wherein the second switch is capable of generating a signal responsive to force being applied to the writing core first end, and
(4) a multicolor indicator operatively associated with the first and second switches and capable of receiving signals from the first and second switches and providing a distinct indication corresponding to each signal;
(b) providing power to the electrical circuit, thereby enabling the first switch to provide a first signal to the indicator, which causes the indicator to provide a first indication to the user; and
(c) writing using the writing instrument by having the user transmit sufficient force upon a writing medium through the writing instrument such that the second switch provides a second signal to the indicator, which causes the indicator to provide a second indication to the user.